Hold on to those summer days
I am not ready to let go of summer.
Summer is my favorite season, and I’m tired of having it hijacked by fall enthusiasts.
It’s bad enough that school now starts in the middle of August — prime water sports weather. But what’s worse is the way some people close the book on summer when the first homework packets come home.
Outdoor pools are sadly empty as people jump the gun on fall, settling back into indoor routines prematurely. Like watching preseason football games on TV. Who cares? I’ll be at the pool. Or the lake.
Last week we were at the beach. Every year my husband and our two kids, 16 and 11, spend the week before school starts at the ocean. I wanted to stay until the night before school started. But our sixth-grade daughter insisted we come back a day earlier for her school’s ice cream social. I don’t understand her priorities.
Mine are simple this time of year: Swimming, grilling, waterskiing. My brother has a ski boat, and I can’t get enough of skimming across the surface of water at 25 miles per hour. The simultaneous sensations of wind on wet skin, hair blowing straight back and water churning below bouncing feet are exhilarating and, therefore, important.
I’ve let my brother know I’m available for skiing every weekend as long as the water is warm. After that, my dad has graciously offered to extend boating season with nature-watching tours on his pontoon boat when the leaves begin to turn. Count us in. I’ll bring something for dinner.
Grilling is never easier than this time of year. Farmers markets are overflowing with ripe tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers. Supermarkets are practically giving away juicy peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums. You don’t need a recipe, just a knife and a little salt or sugar and you’re in business.
My favorite no-fail summer meal plan is to marinate some meat (flank or skirt steak or lamb chops) while you are at the pool or the lake, then serve it with big bowls of cooked corn, herbed squash, cucumber salad, yogurt, fat slices of heirloom tomatoes and fresh flour tortillas or pita bread.
Of course work and school must be attended to. They just aren’t priorities when temperatures are above 80. I encourage my kids to go to the pool after school every day. We swim indoors in the winter, but it isn’t the same. Watching movies is also on hold. My girlfriend and I have a backlog of DVDs we want to watch, but not until the cold north wind chases us off her brick patio in mid-October. Then I’ll get reacquainted with HBO, the Chiefs and the New Yorker. But not before.
It is still summer.